Written Answers Monday 3 November 2008

Scottish Executive

Agriculture

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to evidence to the Rural Affairs and Environment Committee by the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment on 8 October 2008, what budget any additional funds for the new entrants scheme for farmers would come from should the allocated £10 million be spent.

Richard Lochhead: The new entrants measure is one of a wide range of measures within the Scotland Rural Development Programme and we have flexibility to re-profile expenditure under the programme as it is taken forward. Funding across all these measures will be closely monitored by the Scottish Government along with industry stakeholders. If the new entrants measure became oversubscribed, it would therefore be open to us to reallocate spending in line with demand for that measure.

Agriculture

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the level of demand is for the new entrants scheme for farmers.

Richard Lochhead: To date, 17 applications which include new entrants elements have been submitted to the Rural Development Contracts – Rural Priorities scheme.

  Three of these cases were approved at the first assessment round in August, sharing over £150,000 in funding.

  The remaining 14 new entrants applications include bids for a total of almost £900,000 in funding and will be considered at the October assessment round. The results of the funding round will be announced by the Cabinet Secretary in November.

Agriculture

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it plans to promote the new entrants scheme for farmers.

Richard Lochhead: Support for new entrants into farming is available under the Rural Development Contracts - Rural Priorities element of the Scotland Rural Development Programme.

  The new entrants measure, along with the rural priorities scheme as a whole, has been widely publicised by ministers and others, including industry bodies, and we will continue to take every suitable opportunity to ensure that the measure remains widely known.

Bees

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of any international studies on the relationship between honeybee numbers and the use of insecticides.

Richard Lochhead: We are aware of a wide range of literature relating to bee populations and the use of pesticides.

Bees

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of any EU member state initiatives to limit the use of insecticides as a measure to combat the reduction in honeybee numbers.

Richard Lochhead: France, Germany, Italy and Slovenia have taken steps as necessary to restrict or prevent the use of certain pesticides. The information which is available indicates that these actions have been taken as a precautionary measure due to an association between rather than any direct evidence of adverse impacts arising from the use of certain pesticides and bee populations.

Bees

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to, or interactions it has had with, the European Union or other governments on the question of the decline in honeybee numbers.

Richard Lochhead: The impact of pesticides on bee populations, and position of various member states, was discussed at a recent EU Working Group which meets regularly to review issues relating to the approval of pesticides. The UK has received information in response to a request to the German and Italian authorities on the reasons for their restrictions. No reply has yet been received to a similar request from the authorities in Slovenia.

Central Heating Programme

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many applications to the central heating scheme were made by residents in the South Ayrshire Council area between May 2007 and 30 August 2008.

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many applications to the central heating scheme were made by residents in the East Ayrshire Council area between May 2007 and 30 August 2008.

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many successful applications to the central heating scheme were made by residents in the South Ayrshire Council area between May 2007 and 30 August 2008.

Stewart Maxwell: Information is not held by local authority area.

Central Heating Programme

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many successful applications to the central heating scheme were made by residents in the East Ayrshire Council area between May 2007 and 30 August 2008.

Stewart Maxwell: Information is not held by local authority area.

Civil Service Relocation

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether consideration is given to the social and economic opportunities that communities gain through government job relocations when deciding on such relocations.

John Swinney: The Scottish Government set out its relocation policy on 29 January 2008. Relocation of specific bodies will be considered where it can be shown that there are operational benefits from doing so, that the costs of relocation can be afforded and that it will result in efficiencies. Where those conditions are satisfied a transparent process will be undertaken to identify potential location options. That process will include consideration of the suitability of particular locations in terms of local employment trends and skills availability, along with the opportunities that may be afforded to contribute to local economic regeneration or economic growth.

Devolution

Jamie Hepburn (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it or any of its agencies operate a policy of answering only the first inquiry from members of the UK Parliament and, where that inquiry pertains to the original issue, not replying to further inquiries from the same member of the UK Parliament.

Jamie Hepburn (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it or any of its agencies operates a policy of asking members of the UK Parliament to refer any inquiries from constituents on devolved matters to the relevant member of the Scottish Parliament.

Bruce Crawford: The Scottish Government and its agencies adopt the approach of carefully considering the content of each item of correspondence received before deciding how best to provide a relevant and timely response. We place a high priority on responding to ministerial correspondence as quickly as possible and to advise an MP to direct queries on devolved matters through an MSP, would only serve to delay the reply.

Economy

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what impact it expects the current economic uncertainty to have on low-paid workers in Scotland.

John Swinney: It is too early to tell what impact the current economic uncertainty will have on low-paid workers in Scotland. This will depend on the length and depth of the economic slowdown, for which there is still a significant degree of uncertainty.

First Minister

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria the First Minister uses for assessing the competence of his ministers.

Bruce Crawford: The assessment of ministers’ performance is entirely a matter for the First Minister. Scottish ministers are appointed directly by the First Minister under the terms of Section 47 of the Scotland Act 1998.

Housing

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many new council houses can be provided for each million pounds of expenditure in (a) Edinburgh, (b) Aberdeen, (c) Inverness and (d) Glasgow.

Stewart Maxwell: The number of new council houses that can be provided for a given level of expenditure in these cities, as elsewhere in Scotland, will depend on the details of any projects taken forward by the local authorities in these areas.

Inter-Governmental Links

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when the First Minister will next meet the First Minister and Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland.

Linda Fabiani: There are no current plans for the First Minister to meet with the First Minister and Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland. However, the ministers did meet recently at the 11th Summit of the British-Irish Council hosted by the First Minister at Hopetoun House in September. The communiqué of the summit has been lodged with the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 46719).

International Relations

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what contacts there have been between Scottish ministers and the Quebec Government regarding its relationship with the Scottish Government.

Linda Fabiani: The First Minister has received two letters from the Premier of Quebec, Jean Charest, the first congratulating him on his election as First Minister and a second letter inviting him to attend a ceremony in Quebec celebrating the 400th Anniversary of the founding of Quebec City. The First Minister was unable to attend the ceremony but has extended an invitation to the Premier to visit Scotland in the future.

  Pierre Boulanger, Agent General for Quebec has written to me to request a meeting when next he is in Scotland and my office are in the process of setting this up.

Justice

Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether consideration will be given to a cold case review, conducted by a Scottish police force other than Northern Constabulary, into the police investigation that followed the death of Kevin McLeod in Wick on 8 February 1997.

Kenny MacAskill: The circumstances surrounding the tragic death of Kevin McLeod were the subject of two investigations conducted by Northern Constabulary in the months immediately following the incident. On 14 May 1998 an inquiry under the Fatal Accidents and Sudden Deaths Inquiry (Scotland) Act 1976 was convened at Wick Sheriff Court. The outcome of that inquiry was an open verdict.

  Cold case reviews are normally carried out when new evidence comes to light or when technological advances mean that existing evidence can be subjected to further analysis.

  Any decision on whether a cold case review would be appropriate in the circumstances surrounding this case is a matter for Northern Constabulary and the Procurator Fiscal.

Lifelong Learning

Hugh O'Donnell (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what changes it has made in relation to financial thresholds for individual learning accounts.

Fiona Hyslop: On the 1 June 2007 the individual income threshold eligibility for the Individual Learning Account Scotland scheme increased from £15,000 to £18,000.

Lifelong Learning

Hugh O'Donnell (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether basic literacy and numeracy skills training is provided free for adults over 18 years of age or has to be paid for from an individual learning account.

Fiona Hyslop: Adult literacy and numeracy provision in the community is free to the learner. We are not replacing this free provision – we are extending the use of Individual Learning Accounts to include workplace learning. Adults aged 16 and over can use their ILA for literacies learning at work.

  Although some adult literacies partnerships are providing literacy and numeracy learning with employers this is not uniformly available across the country. Extending the scope of ILAs will ensure that workplace literacies learning is available across the whole of Scotland.

Lifelong Learning

Hugh O'Donnell (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has for the development of learning partnerships.

Fiona Hyslop: Learning partnerships were set up in England in 1999 to promote collaboration by learning providers across sectors (schools, further education, work-based learning and adult and community learning). They are non-statutory, voluntary groupings of local learning providers and others such as local government, careers service, trade unions, employers and faith groups. The core roles for learning partnerships are promoting provider collaboration in support of lifelong learning and maximising the contribution of learning to local regeneration.

  In Scotland, in 2000, the then Scottish Executive asked local authorities to lead on the development of Community Learning Partnerships across Scotland. In this way, community and voluntary organisations, local authorities, police and health boards, further and higher education institutions and enterprise and careers agencies began to work together to achieve positive change in communities, through the provision of learning and social development opportunities.

  With the publication of Working and Learning Together to Build Stronger Communities in January 2004, the Scottish Executive asked that (building on the work of the Community Learning Partnerships) Community Planning Partnerships take the responsibility for ensuring that a co-ordinated approach is taken to community learning and development in their area, through the formation of Community Learning and Development (CLD) Partnerships (in which schools and colleges should again be key players). There is a CLD Partnership in each of the local authority areas and each partnership has in place a CLD Strategy.

  Our distinctive Scottish approach to CLD links learning with practical activity to improve community life, through which people develop skills that are essential in a work setting. CLD Partnerships make an important contribution towards promoting lifelong learning, social inclusion and active citizenship.

Ministerial Engagements

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail all the diary engagements of the Minister of Europe, External Affairs and Culture between and inclusive of 11 and 14 July 2008.

Linda Fabiani: I had no official diary engagements during the period 11 and 14 July 2008 inclusive.

Renewable Energy

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when the decision was made to create the Wave and Tidal Energy Support Scheme.

Jim Mather: The decision to create the scheme was made over the course of the summer of 2006, and the scheme was formally launched in October 2006.

Renewable Energy

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many grants were made in 2006-07 under the Wave and Tidal Energy Support Scheme and what the value was of each.

Jim Mather: Successful bids for grant support under the scheme were announced in February 2007.

  No grants were paid in financial year 2006-07.

Renewable Energy

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any grants have been made in the current financial year under the Wave and Tidal Energy Support Scheme and, if so, what the value is of each grant.

Jim Mather: Three grant payments have been made in the current financial year to date. The value of each is shown below.

  £73,336

  £228,337

  £46,295.

Renewable Energy

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many applications it received for the Wave and Tidal Support Scheme in (a) 2006-07 and (b) 2007-08 and how many it has received in the current financial year.

Jim Mather: The scheme closed for applications in November 2006. In total, 13 applications for support were received in response to the call for bids.

Renewable Energy

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when the decision was taken to discontinue funding the Wave and Tidal Energy Support Scheme.

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the decision to discontinue the Wave and Tidal Energy Support Scheme was approved by the Scottish Cabinet.

Jim Mather: No such decision has been taken. We continue to issue grant payments to projects supported by the scheme.

Renewable Energy

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to replace the Wave and Tidal Energy Support Scheme with a new mechanism for funding research and development specifically in wave and tidal power generation and, if so, how it will do so.

Jim Mather: The Scottish Government continues to issue grant payments to projects supported by the scheme.

  We also continue to discuss with stakeholders the need for further direct support for the wave and tidal energy sector. The Forum for Renewable Energy Development in Scotland (FREDS) has agreed recently that its Marine Energy Group should be reconvened for an updated examination of the sector’s progress and requirements. The need for and shape of future grant support will be one of the issues considered by that group. This work will feed into the development of a route map for the sector, as part of our Renewable Energy Framework, which will be published early in 2009.

Renewable Energy

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what analysis it has made of the success of the Wave and Tidal Energy Support Scheme in encouraging marine energy technology companies to locate or remain in Scotland.

Jim Mather: The Wave and Tidal Energy Support Scheme has clearly strengthened the position of marine energy companies based in and operating from Scotland, such as Wavegen and Aquamarine Power.

  Meanwhile, the support available under the scheme, and the wider support established under the Renewables Obligation (Scotland), has encouraged other marine energy companies to establish themselves in Scotland, such as Tocardo Tidal Energy, which has its headquarters in Caithness.

Renewable Energy

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what analysis it has made of the potential benefits for Scotland’s economy of exporting tidal and wave technology.

Jim Mather: The Forum for Renewable Energy Development in Scotland (FREDS) has agreed recently that its Marine Energy Group should be reconvened for an updated examination of the sector’s progress and requirements. This will happen shortly, and we expect that the issue of exports and potential benefits will form part of the group’s work.

Renewable Energy

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many jobs it considers could be created in Scotland by tidal and wave energy technology and manufacturing companies and whether those estimates have been revised since the Forum for Renewable Energy Development in Scotland’s Marine Energy Group Report of 2004.

Jim Mather: The Forum for Renewable Energy Development in Scotland (FREDS) Marine Energy Group forecast in 2004 that by 2020 the marine energy sector could create and sustain 7,000 direct jobs in Scotland.

  FREDS has agreed recently that its Marine Energy Group should be reconvened for an updated examination of the sector’s progress and requirements. This will happen shortly, and we expect that employment potential will form part of the group’s work.

Renewable Energy

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what lessons it believes should be drawn from the economic benefits that Denmark has gained from being the world-leading wind power technology location for over three decades and how these should be applied to the marine energy industry in Scotland.

Jim Mather: We believe that there are clear parallels to be drawn between the early support for research and development of wind power in Denmark, and the subsequent success of Danish companies within that sector, and the development of the marine energy industry in Scotland. That is why we believe that the support which we are continuing to administer towards marine energy research and development projects, and our continued support for the European Marine Energy Centre, are vital to the establishment of Scotland as the global capital for wave and tidal energy.

Renewable Energy

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what analysis it has made of the research and development funding schemes for marine energy recently established in Ireland and the United States of America.

Jim Mather: We are aware of the marine energy support schemes being established in other parts of the world. The Forum for Renewable Energy Development in Scotland (FREDS) has agreed that its Marine Energy Group should be reconvened. This will happen shortly, and we expect that that an assessment of these schemes will form part of the group’s work.

Renewable Energy

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of any research and development funding schemes established in other countries that are available to Scottish marine energy companies and, if so, what it considers the impact of such schemes will be on Scottish marine energy companies.

Jim Mather: The Scottish Government is aware that other countries have established support schemes for marine energy. This reflects the scale of the global opportunity, which is estimated to run into billions of pounds. Scottish marine energy companies can receive positive benefits from such schemes. For example, Pelamis Wave Power has been able to deploy Scottish-built devices off the Portuguese coast. We believe that these opportunities will continue in future to benefit a wave and tidal sector in Scotland, built and based here on the strength of our resource, manufacturing capability and the support available from the Scottish Government.

Renewable Energy

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether marine energy research and development funding has been discussed by the Cabinet since May 2007.

Jim Mather: By long-standing convention, and in accordance with long-established practice across UK governments, in order to protect the confidentiality of the proceedings of the Cabinet, information on Cabinet deliberations is not disclosed.

Renewable Energy

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made any analysis of the likely demand for a new Scottish marine energy research and development scheme and, if so, what the conclusions were.

Jim Mather: There is a clear desire within the wave and tidal sector for the very welcome support from the Scottish Government to be continued and extended. The Forum for Renewable Energy Development in Scotland (FREDS) has recently agreed to reconvene a group which will focus on the future development of the sector. Among the outputs will be the group’s considered view on the extent and shape of future market and financial support.

Renewable Energy

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has had from the marine energy companies or industry bodies about research and development funding and what conclusions have been drawn from these representations.

Jim Mather: We are in regular contact with a range of marine renewable stakeholders. The main conclusion to be drawn is that the sector welcomes the support that the Scottish Government continues to make available to develop the sector in Scotland. There is also clear demand for such support to continue and be extended.

  The Forum for Renewable Energy Development in Scotland (FREDS) has agreed recently that its Marine Energy Group should be reconvened for an updated examination of the sector’s progress and requirements. This will happen shortly, and we expect the group to assess the effects of the Wave and Tidal Energy Support Scheme and its outputs when commenting on the need for future support for the sector.

Renewable Energy

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what lessons it has learned from the 2007 Wave and Tidal Energy Support Scheme and how it will apply those to a new marine energy research and development funding scheme.

Jim Mather: The Scottish Government continues to support projects under the 2007 Wave and Tidal Energy Support Scheme. The Forum for Renewable Energy Development in Scotland (FREDS) has agreed recently that its Marine Energy Group should be reconvened. We will look to FREDS to assess the effects of the support scheme and its outputs when commenting on the need for future support for the sector.

Renewable Energy

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what financial assistance is available to people wishing to learn British Sign Language.

Stewart Maxwell: The British Sign Language and Linguistic Access Working Group has been working with the Scottish Government and relevant organisations for a number of years to improve access to British Sign Language (BSL) learning.

  Most BSL courses take place within the adult learning community or at further education colleges. There are a variety of support mechanisms available for those courses and these are dependent on the individual’s study pattern and SCQF level of the course being studied. Financial support varies from ILA support for SVQ level courses to "rest of the United Kingdom" (RUK) tuition fee loans and means-tested living cost grants to study degree level courses at HEIs in RUK.

Scottish Government

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost has been of changing the public title of the Scottish Executive to Scottish Government.

John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-4381 on 19 September 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Sport

Jamie Hepburn (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what support it has given to local authorities to invest in multi-use games areas in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority.

Stewart Maxwell: Sportscotland has provided financial support of £1,349,013 million to 22 projects across 15 local authorities as set out in the following table.

  

 Year
 Local Authority
 Project name
£


 2000
 Argyll and Bute
 Lochnell
 32,500


 
 
 Dunoon
 99,238


 
 Orkney Islands
 Burray Community
 37,650


 
 Perth and Kinross
 Larghan Park
 47,393


 
 
 Project Grasshopper
 31,000


 
 Scottish Borders
 Newcastleton Polysport
 33,700


 
 
 Stow Parish Trust
 37,075


 2001
 City of Edinburgh
 Gracemount
 67,500


 
 Fife
 Dunfermline Centre
 42,993


 2002
 Aberdeenshire
 Portsoy Park
 163,137


 
 Dumfries and Galloway
 Hillview, Kirkconnel
 110,400


 
 East Ayrshire
 Muirkirk
 54,224


 
 Fife
 Crossford
 29,582


 
 Perth and Kinross
 Blair Atholl and Struan
 52,297


 
 South Aysrhire
 Annbank and Tarbolton
 46,835


 2003
 Glasgow City
 Gladiator Programme
 63,575


 2004
 Dundee City
 Finmill Community
 53,736


 
 Falkirk
 Dawson Community Centre
 107,500


 2006
 East Ayrshire
 Bonnyton Thistle
 95,000


 2007
 Argyll and Bute
 Tayvallich
 33,010


 
 Highland
 Shieldaig
 60,000


 2008
 South Lanarkshire
 Forth
 50,668

Tourism

Helen Eadie (Dunfermline East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much public funding is used to market Fife as a tourist location and how this compares to other regions in Scotland.

Jim Mather: VisitScotland’s spend on promoting Scotland and its areas in the tourism market is not allocated on a local authority or area basis, but, importantly, according to what VisitScotland know visitors look for in a holiday to Scotland. Because VisitScotland does not market Scotland area by area, no figures specifically for Fife are available. Fife is promoted both domestically and overseas by VisitScotland via a wide variety of channels, some of which focus entirely on Fife, e.g. the Kingdom of Fife Visitor Guide, and some of which feature Fife as part of a wider promotion of Scotland, e.g. through VisitScotland’s golf or other marketing. Funding from Fife Council is spent according to the agreement which VisitScotland has with that local authority. Whichever methods of marketing are used, meeting the needs of the visitor is paramount.

Tourism

Helen Eadie (Dunfermline East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how Fife is marketed as a tourist location and how this compares to other regions in Scotland.

Jim Mather: As with all areas of Scotland, Fife is marketed by VisitScotland according to what it has to offer its visitors, and what these visitors are looking for on their visit. Fife’s strengths include: golf, touring, great outdoors, food and drink, walking, nature, local events and festivals, and history and heritage. VisitScotland uses an extensive range of channels in its marketing such as websites, print, direct mail and PR to reach potential visitors – both leisure and business visitors – across Scotland and in the UK and international tourism markets.

Tourism

Helen Eadie (Dunfermline East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive by what process the use of funds for the promotion of tourism in Fife is decided.

Jim Mather: VisitScotland’s promotion of Scotland and its areas, and the process by which it allocates marketing funds, is based on sophisticated market research, which identifies what visitors are looking for in a trip to Scotland. This allows VisitScotland to focus spending in order to generate the maximum economic value for Scotland, both nationally and area by area. Spend is not allocated on an area basis but spread across a wide variety of promotional activities, many of which cover Fife and its attractions, such as the dedicated www.visitfife.com website.

  In addition, VisitScotland works closely with Fife Council, which also provides funding directly to VisitScotland in order to deliver specified marketing activities for the benefit of the area. These activities are agreed through direct discussion with the local authority and form part of an annual partnership agreement that contributes to the effective promotion of Fife.